Marijuana and The Straight Edge

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That's also a side effect of ecstacy. I'm not saying you're a pill popper (although I've been known to partake in the odd pill or two! )

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You're right, it is, and some people who are now suffering from this are people who have indulged in the past. It's like an alcoholic suffering from liver damage. What's done is done, and I'm not going to comment on that part of it, because that goes into what Dr Toker was originally saying, each person makes their own decisions about what they do. I have never taken ecstasy, so that's not where my problem came from. But you are exactly right, and for that reason I would urge people to avoid it, because the possible lifetime after effects SUCK!!!
It's bad enough to deal with being like this...if I thought I had done it to myself...AARGH! I don't know what I would do....lol.

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ok now i left off the ones about the disorders, but look at these two. they are on the PAXIL website. i would hardly count them as good sources for information on the drug they are trying to sell.

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The reason I included these sites is because there is a good explanation of the chemical workings of the drug there. Yes, there are quite a few side effects from Paxil....I went round and round with it for a couple of weeks, and I was sick as crap from it. BUT...and it all depends on the person....I feel wonderful now. I am able to do things I wasn't able to do before, and I don't want to go into a whole long poor me spiel right now, but it has made a major improvement in my life and my family's.

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(keep in mind that i am NOT saying that it isnt safe or effective, as i dont know nearly enough to say that).

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I'm REALLY not trying to sound like a bitch here....but that is exactly why I made my post and posted those links. The illnesses and medications used to treat them are really not understood by most folks, and there is a HUGE stigma behind using anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. A lot of people get the idea that there is something fundamentally "wrong " with a person who needs to take these medications, and there isn't. That is also why I chose to talk about something that is fairly uncomfortable for me to talk about. I feel like I have made some friends here, and that I am generally accepted as a "normal" girl, and that I'm not some sort of whacko. It's important that people understand the reason behind needing these drugs, and I wanted to speak up a little. That's why the original post made me so angry...it was like the suggestion was being made that there's really no need for these medications...just go get high. You guys suffer the stereotype of a lifestyle and choices that you make. I suffer the stereotype of a medication I HAVE to take.

Valhallen....big hugs for you sweetheart...You are a great person!

Deb :D

This conversation got off in this direction
when I began ranting about Ritalin.
My main complaint is that it seems to be
over-prescribed, and I'm not the only one
who thinks so.

The other issue is that these are children,
and it is so much harder to assess the effects
on children.

An adult can tell the doctor "hey, I don't
like the way it makes me feel", and the doctor
can adjust your dosage, or try something else.
Also, as an adult, you sought help from your
physician to help you feel better because
you knew you felt bad, but with kids
on Ritalin, it is often prescribed because, in the
opinion of teachers or school admins, the child
appears to have a problem in his behavior

It wasn't that long ago when there were no anti-depressant
or anti-anxiety drugs, and people were just allowed to
suffer, but if they're available, and they work,
by all means use them.
:cool:

RCGreen: Mood: worried
Reason: my big mouth will get me into trouble

LOL!!

Deb :D

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For some reason alcohol is so much more acceptable
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how about the fact that its legal.

some people, for some strange reason, just don't like to get arrested and have black marks on their record. if your driving in the company of someone and for some/any reason the cops pull you over and find a bag of pot on this guy/girl you all can go to jail, loose your license, be faced with probation and/or pay a fine. it all just depends on how big an ass-hole the cop wants to be. and their are some who can be real ass-holes.

you can even be walking or hanging out and get busted for what someone else may have in their pockets.

its guilt by association, they book you for constructive possession. is it any wonder why people who care about their image would rather not have pot heads around. i mean really, is anybody worth that who needs it.

speaking for myself now, i dont care my image is **** anyway. but i understand.

Hey Deb I just wanna let you know that I suffer from a string of mental probelms. I have been diagnosed by multipule doctors as Bi-polar,Manic Depressant, and of course The much spoken about Social Ainxiety Disorder. So , don't get pissy thinking I am one of those "happy people".
I listed those three medications, because I have been perscribed them all. I no-longer take them. I find that my own mental capacity can beat this. Alothough sometimes I do have "Episodes" that could be avoided if I would take my medication. But you know, these episodes can be deterred by simply smoking a joint. I don't really agree with my doctors. I mean, they talked with me for a few weeks, and diagnosed me. WTF. If it is this chemical imbalance that they are talking about, why didnt they give me some sort of chemical test? Or any blood work? They piss tested me, and thats about it.

Excuse me Deb, I never was demeaning your illness, nor was I downsizing the problem. I was speaking from MY experience. Not out of ignorance as your post suggested. I have delt with S.A.D for my whole life it seems. I have always shyed away from large social excursions.(With the exception of the RAVE scean I was involved with for a while.) Which is why I got into computers. All my "freinds" in the neighbor hood would pick on me, I would go home crying, and play with my Packard Bell 386 sx. Eventually I went on into High school, right after my parents divorce mind you. Still being rejected by my peers because of my appearance. Maybe i was asking for it. Wearing a black dress to a predominatly black school will get some 'negative' attention. But still being rejected by society, created a hole for me. I called 'The Darkness'. I wrote alot of prose poetry about this darkness that consumed my very being.I began hating my self and everyone else. Soon after that I was secretly cutting my self, and writing even more twisted poetry. Later, my very concerned, single mother notices cuts on my arms one night when I was changing shirts. The next day I was commited to Cypress Creek Hospital. June-1998. Hence the Beginning of my Drug habit. It started with Depekote. And ended with Marijuana.

Sorry to lay this on all of you, its just that Debwalin was acting like she was a 'special' case cause she has mental illness. Well, Deb, Me too.

BTW Tedob1, Great point WAY on topic.

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Why does it need to be legallized anyway?

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Because I should be able to smoke a joint with out being locked up like an animal. I should be able to sit on my front porch and hit the bong with out looking over my shoulder. There's many reasons why it should be legalized. Why shouldn't it be? I think pot should be sold over the counter just like a pack of smokes. Do you know what's in cigarettes? 599 mind boggling chemicals that destroy your body with every drag you take. See this site for the ingredients that are in cigarettes. Just look it up on Google and see what you come up with when you look for cigarette ingredients and compare it to marijuana.. Now which would you rather smoke?

Remote_Access

I think they're all bad. :D On a more serious note, just because something worse is legal doesn't mean that what's being done is necessarily good because it is better than bad.

Is it just me, or is there a trend now-a-days towards being 'unique' by saying you have some sort of mental disorders? (I'm not saying anyone here is being insincere.)

It seems to me like everyone has mental disorders, there is only a difference in degree which can be extremely fuzzy... makes me think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I'm not ranting...I promise!

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Is it just me, or is there a trend now-a-days towards being 'unique' by saying you have some sort of mental disorders? (I'm not saying anyone here is being insincere.)

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I think that my point is that I'm not unique. There are a lot more of us than most people would think...lol. I think it's just gotten to the point where a lot more people are talking about it than before, because we're tired of being "in the closet" so to speak. It is an illness like others, and I think it's just that people are tired of being stereotyped as a "psycho" or something else silly because they take an anti-depressant. Granted there are those who think they are cool because of it, but I think the majority of us have just had to find a way to live our lives as well as we can. I have a wonderful, normal life....NOW. I didn't before...lol! It has really been a blessing to me to find a medication that makes me be able to do things other mommies and wives can do.
I think that part of the thing that is happening now is that there is more publicity of all types. Both in news articles, and in television advertising. It wasn't that long ago that you never saw an ad on TV for anti-depressants (or Viagra...but that's a whole different subject there...LMAO.) And there is a lot of coverage in media and in print of people who have these disorders talking about it for the first time. When you see someone famous on TV who has the nerve to talk about it, you start to think maybe you should do your part to take away some of the mystery.

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It seems to me like everyone has mental disorders, there is only a difference in degree which can be extremely fuzzy... makes me think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

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I don't think I'm ready for Nurse Ratchett yet...lol. But you are right in a way. A lot of people suffer from some sort of mental disorder. And there are different types, and different extremes. I have never been ready for the psych ward anywhere.....but I probably will take Pazil or something like it for the rest of my life. But there are people who manage their illnesses lots of different ways. Dr Toker and I have discussed the different ways we handle ours, and there are lots of people who do it with therapy alone, or a combination, or people who never seek treatment...which I think is sad. I don't think there is any point in living an unhappy life if you don't have to, when for a lot of people it is a matter of a chemical imbalance which can be taken care of with one little pill a day.....

Just my .02!

Deb :D

i smoke weed 2 i think it brodens u r concentration

Acctually Prodikal Marijuana lowers your concentration. It effects your memory in many different ways. Take a look....


Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is processed by the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that neurons in the information processing system of the hippocampus and the activity of the nerve fibers in this region are suppressed by THC. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate via this mechanism.

Recent research findings also indicate that long-term use of marijuana produces changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse.
http://www.personalhealthzone.com/ma...deeffects.html


The following are some of the common side effects of using marijuana:

Trouble remembering things
Sleepiness
Anxiety
Paranoia (feeling that people are “out to get you”)
Altered time perception


Figured i should post this since I was ranting about Prozaks side effects....